''Cli-fi in the news, cli-fi you can use.'' --
''The Cli-Fi Report'' is a portal for all things cli-fi, from blogs to videos to Wikipedia to Twitter to news links and Facebook Groups. See the portal, the largest Cli-Fi portal on the Internet at cli-fi.net. EMAIL: danbloom@gmail.com

Saturday, May 31, 2008

An Interview with Peter Laskowski: Survivalist

Danny Bloom: How did that Associated Press story of May 2008,reprinted worldwide in newspapers in over 100 countries come about?Did you know the reporter Samantha Gross beforehand, or how did shefind you?Peter Laskowski: The AP reporter heard about me from my daughter. Shehad heard that I lived "off the grid" and called me on the phone oneday last spring, spring of 2008. She interviewed me over the phonefirst, and then she sent an AP photographer up to Waitsfield, Vermont,where I live, to take photos and do a second interview.LINK: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i6GXwx2chQltK3liINhxHz_uEGSwD90SI8G80

Danny: The AP article was titled in some newspapers as "Energy fearslooming, new survivalists prepare". And it began like this: "A fewyears ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban Americangrandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch atMcDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future ofthe world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we knowit to disappear."

What did you think of the AP article after you read it? Did thereporter leave anything out, did she go too far, or did she not go farenough in reporting the "news" of what's coming in the future?

Peter:I thought it was a short and concise report. I talked to the reporter for about an hour, but only about 5 minutes worth of my remarks made it into her final article. So yes, I feel the AP report was accurate in digest form.

Danny: What impact do you think this AP article, reprinted inhundreds, maybe thousands of newspapers and websites around the world,will have on people worldwide, and especially in America and Canada?

Peter:I think it will add to the national conversation. The issue of energy depletation is at this point well-known, although it is not actually believed by many people yet. I think this article will make more people aware of what some people are doing to prepare.

Danny: There's an AP photo of you by Toby Talbot, that accompanied thenews article, that shows by your indoor house garden.

Caption quote: "Peter Laskowski plants vegetables [indoors] at hisremote home in Waitsfield, Vt., on Friday, April 11, 2008. Convincedthat the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economiesare heading for a crash, people around the country are moving ontohomesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, insome cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defendthemselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people whodidn't prepare."

The second AP photo said: "Peter Laskowski stacks firewood at his remote home in Waitsfield."The third AP photo said: "Peter Laskowski feeds his chickens and sheep at his remote home in Waitsfield."

If things get worse, as the article said they might, and as othersquoted in the article said as well, where will most of your food comefrom? And not just you there in Waitsfield, but where will the food comefrom for people who live in large cities like New York or Chicago orTaipei?

Peter:I think we are heading into an era of resource shortages. I plan to grow as much as possible myself and then hope for the best.

Danny: The AP report continued: "Convinced the planet's oil supply isdwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, somepeople around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to liveoff their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up onguns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies fromdesperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.......[While] the exactnumber of people taking such steps is impossible to determine,anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gainingmomentum in [the USA and Europe] over the last few years.

These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of greenrevolution meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is toolate for that, seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and afaltering U.S. economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves.

Some are doing it quietly, giving few details of their preparations —afraid that revealing such information as the location of theirsupplies will endanger themselves and their loved ones. They envisiona future in which the nation's cities will be filled with hungry,desperate refugees forced to go looking for food, shelter and water."

Do you also believe it is too late to save the planet? Do you believethat we are past the point of no return? And if so, when do you thinkthings will begin to get really bad and desperate?

Peter:I think our world population may be too large. Time will tell whether we are past the point of no return.

Danny: According to the AP story: "On the www.PeakOil.com website,where upward of 800 people gathered on recent evenings, believersengage in a debate about what kind of world awaits.Some members argue there will be no financial crash, but a slow slideinto harder times. Some believe the federal government will respond tothe loss of energy security with a clampdown on personal freedoms.Others simply don't trust that the government can maintain basicservices in the face of an energy crisis. The powers that be, they'vedetermined, will be largely powerless to stop what is to come."

Where do you stand on all this, Peter? Do you feel the US government,and other governments around the world, from Russia to China to Franceand Germany, will be "powerless to stop what is to come"?

Peter:Sorry, no crystal ball. We are certainly in for some changes. But I am not an optimist. Many societies and civilizations have crashed when faced with resource issues or over-extension. None have gone through a decline to carry on better than before. Then again, we are in a unique period of history..... 150 years of massive energy consumption.... A monumental increase in population and no substitute for the energy we are now using up. Will future technology save us?... or a more rational use of the technology we have developed to date? We can hope that reason and justice will prevail. More likely , we, people, will devour everything until there is nothing left to consume.

Danny: The AP report said of you: "Peter Laskowski is taking stepssimilar to environmentalists: conserving fuel, consuming less,studying global warming, and relying on local produce and craftsmen.Laskowski is powering his home with solar panels and is raising fish,geese, ducks and sheep. He has planted apple and pear trees and isgrowing lettuce, spinach and corn. .......Whenever possible, he useshis bicycle to get into town. ......"I remember the oil crisis in1973; I remember waiting in line for gas. If there is a disruption inthe oil supply it will be very quickly elevated into a disaster."

Were you quoted correctly? And do you have anything else to add hereas a new comment for online readers around the world in terms of whatyou think they should be doing to prepare for such a future?Peter:Yes, I said what I was quoted as saying, and many other things as well that were not included in the AP story. As I mentioned above, I spoke to the reporter for about one hour, but only a few of my remarks were quoted. Do I have anything to add here? Yes: We are in for interesing times, revolutionary times...

Q: Three quick last questions. Do you follow any specific religion?A: No, I don't follow any religion, not yet anyway. I did studyreligious groups from many years and had a particular interest in theShakers and similar utopian/communal/agricultural groups.

Q: Have you read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" yet?A: No, I have not yet read that book yet. I plan to read it soon.

Q: Have you ever heard of the futuristic concept of "polar cities" --not really at the poles, but in northern regions -- for survivors ofpeak oil, global warming and mass migrations northward, as Britishscientist James Lovelock has said, to live in, perhaps in the year2500 or so? Do you think such "polar cities", or northern towns in theArctic, might be needed in the future to house future survivors ofpeak oil and global warming?

A: No, I had never heard of your polar cities idea before. I plan tolook into your website when I have time. It sounds interesting.

Danny:Thank you, Peter, for this email interview. You told me in anearlier email that you have been in Taiwan before and know the nightmarkets here very well. As you know, I have been in Asia for 16 years,and in Taiwan for about 12 years now. What brought you to Taiwan andwhat did you do here then? When was this? Small world!

Peter:I was in Taiwan in circa 1994. I was in Tokyo on a business trip and decided to get a visa there for Taipei to see the National Palace Museum. I had once been a museum director (Shaker Museum, N.Y.) and have gravitated to different museums around the world. I spent several days in Taipei and had a great time touring around.